Walk in the woods

I spent last weekend in what will undoubtedly be our next national park, Red River Gorge.   The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful (as always) and there was even a meteor shower on the first night.  But the real wonder was the group I went there with: 15 young adults and 3 other (old) adults.  The young adults ranged in age from 13 to 18 and they are all associated with my church in one way or another (as were us oldies).
The wonder was in the way these young adults interacted each other and with us “oldies”.  The wonder was in how different their behavior was from the persistent stereotypes about “kids today”.  The wonder was in the care they showed for one another.  The wonder was in the way the group just got along without much need for guidance and without any need for correction.
Was it the lack of artificial age boundaries?  The lack of of screens (all phones were banned except for taking pictures)?  The absence of Or was it the abundance of fresh air?  The long hikes? The campfire cooking?  I can’t say for sure, but I do know that rather than devolving into some sort of lord of the flies case study, our walk in the woods together gave us all a taste of what we can be at our best.